Concept of Wearable Electronics Gains Momentum

July 26, 2004

The German clothing manufacturer rosner from the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt and Infineon Technologies AG today presented a jointly developed product: A men’s jacket called “mp3blue” that features built-in functions such as “mobile telephony via Bluetooth” and “MP3 player”. The electronics are an integral part of the clothing. The electronic features are controlled by a textile keyboard incorporated on the sleeve. This new product for technologically progressive, fashion-conscious men can be ordered via the Internet beginning in early August at www.mp3blue.de.

“The ‘mp3blue’ product designed by rosner is the world’s first lifestyle jacket that implements the concept of complete integration of electronic functions.” said Dieter May, responsible for Strategy and Emerging Business at Infineon. “Our novel wearable electronics concept gains momentum and we are looking forward to develop further clothes with integrated electronic solutions.”

Since the clothing company rosner GmbH & Co. was founded in 1967, its collections have emphasized personal style, quality and comfort. “The ‘mp3blue’ jacket is the result of the work of our motivated and highly qualified teams, aiming to be a pioneer for trends and new types of products,” said Oliver Stollbrock, Head of rosner’s Wearable Electronics department. “We have succeeded in bringing a product combining fashion, fun and functionality to market maturity, building on Infineon’s basic technology.”

The official product presentation will take place during the CPD fashion fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. Electrically conductive fabric is sewn unnoticeably into the “mp3blue” jacket, where they connect a compact electronics module to a textile keyboard on the left sleeve, to the headphones and the microphone, which are integrated into the collar. The module contains an MP3-Player with 128 megabytes of memory, a Bluetooth gateway to control a mobile telephone, and a rechargeable battery that can supply the electronics with power for up to eight hours. As soon as the person wearing the jacket would like to place a telephone call, the stereo system becomes a headset, and the music is automatically interrupted when calls come in. To wash the jacket, it is only necessary to take the electronics module out of its holder.

Studies performed by the Venture Development Corporation predict a global turnover of over one billion (thousand million) euros for the year 2007 for the “intelligent textiles” market. The foundational technology developed by Infineon opens up new markets and channels of distribution, which the company intends to expand significantly by leveraging its position as a market leader.